Breakup
by thehazardsof-love
Summary: This is a fic about Willow and Kennedy breaking up and my take on how they would deal and move on...maybe. Please RR
1. Default Chapter

"Die, Slayers." The vampire lunged at Faith and Kennedy. Faith shoved a stake through his heart without even acknowledging him.

"So, wanna call it a night?" Kennedy asked as they started to exit the cemetery.

"Why so eager?" Faith replied with a grin. "Gotta itch you need Red to scratch?"

"Okay. First, what Willow scratches is none of your business and second no."

"What, all not right in lesbo land?"

"Bite me."

"Oh, testy. What's wrong?"

Kennedy hesitated a moment and sighed, giving into the need to talk to someone. "Okay you see, me and Will...well whenever we're alone all we do majority of the time is...scratch."

"I think your little confused, yo. That's good. Unless you know she's not getting the job done." She laughed.

"No, she's amazing. Stop laughing, jackass. It's just what if that's all it is to her; amazing touch." Noticing that Faith was holding back laughter she added, "You know what? I'm never talking to you ever again."

"Okay, Okay. I'm sorry. Look, Brat. I'm not exactly an expert in this area. I mean most of my relationships have been wicked losers. Then, all it was was touch, but now I have this great guy and..."

"Is this gonna turn into a rant about Wood's stamina?"

"Look shut the hell up and listen. I used to think that about me and Robin. Then he did what he promised he would; he surprised me. He told me he loved me a couple of weeks ago. I know it sounds retarded, but I was scared. I mean guys say that and you think 'well, time to bolt', but I didn't want to I just wanted to say it back. I did and it helped. It proved that it wasn't sex."

"See none of that helps me."

"It does, retard. Tell her how you feel. What's the worse that could happen?"

"She doesn't feel it too. I turn out to be right."

"I don't think that'll happen."

"What if it does? What if this whole time she was just pretending? She was afraid there would be no one else, so she settles with me. Okay, now I really can't do this."

They stopped in front of Kennedy's apartment building and Faith turned and faced her. "You're an idiot, Brat. I see the way Red looks at you. The same way you look at her. Now go screw her brains out and tell her you love her." She punched her in her arm.

"Minus your very sick interest in me and Will screwing, that was actually helpful. What the hell has you so noble?"

"Bye, Brat." She turned and walked away. Kennedy just shook her head and went into her apartment building.

When she got into her apartment Willow was asleep on the couch. She woke up the instance Kennedy closed the door, despite the delicate manner of doing so.

"Hey." Willow said through a yawn.

"Hey. I didn't mean to wake you." She went over and sat down on the floor in front of the sofa Willow was laying on. She brushed some hair out of Willow's face and Willow smiled.

"I missed you." Kennedy leaned in and they kissed. "Mmm...nice, So um...did you kill anything?" Willow asked, grin still plastered on her face.

"Yeah, three vamps. Here in England there isn't that much demonic activity."

"Yeah, I know. Giles and I have been talking and remember how we had talked about Cleveland? Well we think maybe I should go there and summon Slayers. Thing is we're still working out the how part."

"Oh, so you'd like be leaving, going away. You'd be leaving...me." She stood up and started to pace. "I-I mean for the greater good so whew-hoo. It's just...leaving."

Willow sat up. "Yeah, leaving."

"Well, that's good for um...you"

"Hey, hey. Wait a second." She stood up and took Kennedy's hands. Kennedy avoided eye contact. "I want you to come with me, doofus. I mean if you want to."

"Yeah wouldn't wanna live without my tongue ring." She pulled away and headed into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of left over Chinese food. She poured some of the rice into a bowl as Willow came into the room and rested against the door frame.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked lightly.

Kennedy shoved the bowl into the microwave. "Nothing, I'm just tired."

"And that crack about your tongue ring, what was that about?"

She was about to answer, but the microwave beeped. Kennedy paused for a second. She just took in everything.

"Kennedy?"

"I'm not hungry. I have to- I have to go." She tried to get out of the room, but Willow stopped her and lightly pushed her into the refrigerator. She ran her hands up Kennedy's side, but Kennedy pushed them away.

"Damn it, Willow. You know I came here tonight and I had something to say, but you know...never mind. I have to get out of here." She got away and was halfway out the door when Willow spoke.

"What did you want to say to me? I don't wanna fight, please. Whatever it is just say it."

She turned around slowly and let out a deep sigh. "I love you."

When Kennedy looked into Willow's eyes all she noticed was confusion. Then she walked out of the apartment and headed toward the Council's Headquarters.

About twenty minutes later, she arrived at the Council. She walked through the lobby and through the library. She quickly peeked into Giles' office. She noticed he had his head down on his desk and was asleep. She walked passed the tables at the front of the room and through a door that lead to the training room. The room had brick walls and training equipment everywhere. There were mirrors in the front, that Buffy used to show new Slayers moves. She began to punch the punching bag. Everything she felt just exploded and her anger caused her to punch it off its chain.

"Wow, something wrong?"

Kennedy turned and saw, "Xander."

"You okay?" He asked as he sat down on the edge of the bench press. "You seem to be a little...jumpy."

"Oh, no. I'm great. Seems your best friend has been leading me on."

"Leading you on about what?"

"Turns out the only reason she keeps me around is for my...talents."

"I don't think-"

"I told her I loved her. She didn't say anything. We've been together a little over a year and she has never even hinted that she was in love with me. Why would she be? I'm not a...blonde witch." Her voice sunk and she was overwhelmed with sadness. She lowered herself to the mats. Xander just looked at her. "It was only a matter of time."

"Matter of time before what?"

"Before she realized- Before she realized that I'm not good enough, good enough for her. She told me tonight she wanted to go to Cleveland. She said she wanted me to go with, but only after I freaked."

"I know Willow pretty well. Okay, better then anyone and I'm just saying maybe you're wrong, I mean she wouldn't be with you, let alone sleep with you, if she didn't care about you."

"I'm not saying she doesn't care or even that she isn't in deep infatuation with me. That's the only thing it apparently is to her." A rather uncomfortable silence rose for a moment then she said, "Sorry to fall apart here like this in front of you. I know you probably have a better way to spend your Friday night."

"Come on the alternative is watching Star Trek with Andrew. My advice go home and talk to her."

"Right and you know what you're talking about." She smiled at him playfully.

"I'm the one eyed man I know and see all. Unless it's to my left. Then you're just out of luck. Now go home."

"Thanks, Xander. You know today both you and Faith proved helpful."

"Faith, huh? Now there's a shock."

"Yeah." Kennedy stood up and thanked him again before she headed home.

When Kennedy got home Willow was sitting at the coffee table. She was on her laptop. She didn't notice Kennedy's entrance.

"Hey, what 'ya doin'?" Kennedy asked, sitting down in the chair that was diagonal from the sofa.

"I'm on the 'net talking to the coven. We're trying to find that summoning spell." She typed something else and then closed her computer. She avoided eye contact with Kennedy.

"Oh, the um...summoning spell. The one you'll need in Cleveland."

"Yeah. Now that I have it, I can go. We can go. If you want."

"So this is how it's going to be? We're not gonna talk about it?"

"Talk about-"

"The fact that I'm in love with you and you... maybe we shouldn't talk about this." She stood up and was about leave, but stopped. "If you're going to Cleveland, who's going to help Mr. Giles? Maybe you should stay."

"Kennedy, I want you to come with me. I really miss you when your not around." She stood up and walked around the table.

"Do you love me?" Kennedy was almost whispering as she said it.

Kennedy took the look, of what she thought was horror, as a very bad answer. Willow noticing this spoke. "I um...we...you are amazing and- and I-I..."

"You don't." She began to inch towards the door as she continued. "You were just pretending." She began to cry. "It was never real."

"Kennedy, no. That's not-"

"I have to go." She ran out the door and didn't even bother to close it. She headed, for the second time that night, to the Council.

When she got there this time, Giles was awake and in the library.

"Hi, Mr. Giles." She said calmly. There was no sign of the tears she shed not twenty minutes ago.

"Well hello, Kennedy. What brings you here?"

"You do actually. I think I have a better idea of how to solve the Cleveland problem."

"Really?"

"How about instead of sending a witch to summon Slayers, you send a Slayer to kill things?"

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Me."

"What about-"

"I just think it would be best if Willow was here with you. She could do the summoning spell here and send however many you want to me."

"That's bloody brilliant. When would you leave?"

"Tonight. I just have to pack. You should call Willow and tell her to come here."

"Yes, yes. I'll be a moment."

He walked into his office and picked up the phone. Being alone made Kennedy's facade fade. All o f the sadness returned and the knot in her stomach twisted tighter. Tonight she would be leaving the women she loved.

Kennedy walked into her and Willow's apartment, no one was there. She had left the Council before Willow got there and got home after she left. She went in their bedroom and packed her bags. As she left she began to cry. The reality of her situation hit her; Willow didn't love her and now she was leaving her. She felt like she was drowning, but she believed it was for the best. She locked the door behind her.

AN: This is just the first of _MAYBE_ 8 to 10 chapters. It all depends on how many reviews I get. Oh, and just a little hint as to the ending. I'm a big Kennedy/ Willow fan.


	2. Aftermath

A/N: With everything going on I have to write in shifts, causing things to be kind of dull. So be kind of easy. Or better yet tell me. So basically disregard this note.

The lines on the road passed quicker than normal to Willow. She was speeding, but it didn't matter. She had to stop her. She couldn't let her go, not without her knowing.

The car stopped in front of the apartment building and Willow grabbed her keys and jumped out. She got to the third floor and to her apartment door. She twisted the knob, but it was locked. She found the key on her key ring and shoved it in the lock. The door swung open and she was half expecting to find Kennedy sitting on the sofa, but she wasn't there.

She walked through the other rooms of their tiny apartment, last room being the bedroom. She opened the dresser drawers and all of Kennedy's clothes we're gone. She stared into the half empty drawer. The realization that she was gone came. She backed up into the bed and started to sob. How could she let things get so messed up? Why couldn't she just tell her? Tell her that she...

The thought crept into Willow's brain and stuck. She did love her, so why couldn't she tell her? The crying didn't stop until Willow fell asleep.

The next morning the sun woke her up. It peeked through the curtains that hung on the windows. Willow yawned and got up out of the made bed. She looked down at her body and realized she was fully clothed. The suddenly the memories of what happened the night before came flooding back. She wanted to bawl. She sucked it up, just barely, and descended to the bathroom.

As she peered into the mirror, she noticed her eyes were blood-shot and her face was blotchy. She looked away from the mirror and towards the shower. She turned the water on and it spurted out from the showerhead, steam as well. She removed her clothing and stepped into the shower. The water was hot, but soothing.

The soothing lasted just seconds; she missed her girlfriend. She just wanted her to come home. The thoughts of how she left haunted Willow. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't say what she felt. Moments of contemplating this lead into memories of Kennedy and things they had been through.

Memories of their first date, the same date that ended in them kissing. The first time Kennedy hit on her. She was so different from Tara or even herself. She was so strong and confident. Even when she was being a brat, Willow still loved her. That thought was all it took to make her cry again.

Willow wasn't sure how long she had been standing the shower crying when she got out. It was long enough to let the water go cold. She stepped out and dried off. She wrapped her robe around her and walked into her bedroom. The drawers were still half empty. Willow walked over to the dresser and there sitting on top was Kennedy's necklace. She picked it up and tears streamed down her face. She then put it on and got dressed.

When she arrived at the Council everyone was already there. Dawn and Buffy were sitting at one of the tables. Xander wasn't there, but Robin and Faith were. They were over by the weapons chest, messing with the weapons. Giles was in his office on the phone. Buffy was the first to come over to her.

"Hey, Will." She said it nearly in a whisper.

"Hi."

"Giles told us Kennedy went to Cleveland. When are you going?"

"I'm not." Willow walked passed Buffy and over to her computer, which was located in the corner.

"What do you mean you're not? Don't you wanna go see her?"

"More then anything. It's just I can't. I-I- God, everything is so screwed up." She began to cry quietly.

"Will, hey. What happened last night?"

"She told me she loved me."

"Um...I think leaving is a strange way of showing it."

"I didn't say it back. I don't know why I can't just tell her."

"So let me get this straight. You didn't tell her you love her, so she left?"

"Yes. She really believes I don't love her." She stopped crying.

"So go tell her you love her. Get on a plane, fly to Cleveland and tell her you love her."

"I can't do that." She gets up and begins to walk into the training room.

"Hey, Red. How you doin'?" Faith asked looking up from the weapons.

"Fantastic." She entered the training room.

"Willow, wait a second." Buffy got up and followed Willow.

Now in the training room, Willow sat down on the end of a bench press. Buffy sat down in front of her.

"She left last night because of something I did. What if now that she thinks she knows what I feel she doesn't want me? I don't think I could handle Kennedy not wanting me, not looking at me like I'm the most important thing in the world. Not-" She stopped. She was almost crying.

"Oh, Will. I don't think that could ever happen."

"Really? Riley?"

"What about Riley?"

"He was madly in love with you and you didn't realize you loved him until it was too late. Then, he went away and didn't come back until her was happily married."

"Yeah, but Willow that was over an extended period, not over night."

"I just think I should give her some space."

"Okay, is there anything I can do for you?

"No, I just want to be alone. Thanks though."

"If you do need anything I'm here and remember I love you."

"I know."

Buffy smiled and then left. Willow sat silent, remembering.

_The sun was beginning to rise. Kennedy and Willow lay there facing each other. _

_They were naked and entangled in sheets. _

_"We should get up." Willow said, whispering._

_"Nope, I don't want to. Can we just lay here for awhile?" She continued tracing circles on Willow's back. _

_"We have been laying here. If I don't get in the shower I'm gonna smell like hot lesbian sex all day and I really don't think that would be fair to the others." She leaned forward slightly and kissed Kennedy, The kiss lingered for a little and then Willow pulled away. She tried to get out of the bed, but Kennedy stopped her. She pulled her into another kiss; this one was even more passionate then the first._

_Kennedy pulled away. "Please, stay with me for awhile."_

_"Sorry, can't. You better get up too. You have to go with Faith today." Willow lowered her head and a sudden sadness over came her. _

_"Baby, what's wrong?" She sat up. _

_"Nothing. It's just what if something happens? What if you don't come back? How are you suppose to be my kite string if your-"_

_Kennedy cut her off with her lips then pulled away. "I'm not going anywhere."_

_"You don't know that. I mean you could go and the Bringers could just-"_

_"Stop, I swear to you I am not going anywhere." She kissed her again. "Especially after last night." She gave Willow a little smile that made her laugh. "Now go take a shower, you smell like me." _

_"You smell good, though."_

_"According to you."_

_Willow laughed. Then she got out of bed and pulled a t-shirt over her head. Kennedy watched the whole time, taking in every curve. Willow blushed slightly at her audience. _

_"Why do you do that?"_

_"What?" Kennedy asked, snapping out of her trance._

_"Stare at me."_

_"Because you're sexy." She crawled across the bed and kissed Willow again. She pulled away and got a dirty, little grin on her face. _

_"What are you smiling about?"_

_"Maybe I could join you in your showering."_

_"Maybe." She grabbed Kennedy's hand and began to lead her along with her. Kennedy grabbed the sheet to hide her nakedness. _

Willow was now laying on the bench press. Xander walked in, just as the memories began to start flooding back.

"What's up, Will?"

"My girlfriend left me, I think all feeling has left me body, and...I'm kinda sweaty."

"As long as it's nothing to severe. Hey wait. What do you mean Kennedy left?" Willow sat up.

"I'm stupid and she left."

"That doesn't give me the skinny, Will."

"I couldn't tell her how I felt. She took it as a bad thing. I guess it kind of is." She felt teary again. "God, I'm so stupid."

"She left? I thought she would have talked about it more."

"More about what?"

"Last night I was here, desperately trying to get away from Andrew and Kennedy was in here. She was beating the crap out of the punching bag. She was upset and I talked to her."

"When did she- What did she say to you?"

"She said that you wanted to go to Cleveland. She said that you didn't love her and that she wasn't good enough for her because she wasn't..."

"Tara. Damn it! I can't believe she thinks I don't love her because of Tara."

"Has that always been a problem?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Not for me. What am I saying? It was a huge part, at least in the beginning. I guess she still believes it."

"Just call her or-"

"No."

"No?"

"She obviously wanted to get away from me. Get away from whatever it is she was feeling." She paused for a moment to take that in. "I can't do this. I just- I can't." She started to cry. Xander pulled her into a hug. "They all leave."

"Who?"

"Everyone I love. They all leave."

"Not everyone who loves you."

Willow pulled back slightly and smiled at him through her tears. "The ones I love...romantically."

"We made out a couple of times."

"That was because of the formal wear."

"Nah uh."

"Yeah huh." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Either way it was fun." He looked at her. She was still crying a little. "Wanna do it again?"

Willow smacked him in the stomach. "'Cause it ended so well last time."

"Not my fault they didn't knock."

"Sure, it was their fault we were in a basement making out."

"It was. The dirty bastards should have knocked."

She smiled at his pitiful, but heartfelt attempt to cheer her up. The comment did momentarily, but it faded. Everything that had happen just seemed surreal; it all happened so fast. She just needed to be alone to clear her head. "Thanks, Xander. I just think I need to go lay down and maybe bawl for like a year."

"Well whatever works." He kissed her head. "If you need anything."

"Yeah, I know."

****

When she got home she went straight to the couch. She laid down and switched on the TV. She didn't catch much of whatever was because she fell asleep.

_"I like it." Willow said, looking into the empty space that they would be living in. She looked at Kennedy for acknowledgement. All she got was Kennedy staring at her with a huge grin on her face. "What?"_

_"Nothing." She kept staring._

_"No come on, what?"_

_"You are really hot."_

_Willow blushed. "Okay."_

_"I'm just excited."_

_"It's the middle of the day." _

_"Not that kind of excited. Although..." She pinned Willow's arms against the wall beside her head. She began to kiss her. Willow pulled her arms away and brought them up Kennedy's sides._

_Willow, breaking the kiss, "We don't have a bed."_

_"Don't need one." Kennedy pulled Willow to the floor. _

****

Willow, still asleep on the sofa, rolled over and smiled at the pleasant memory.

****

_Kennedy was sitting on the sofa eating a bowl of cereal and watching TV. Willow came in and cuddled up next to her. _

_"Hi ya. Why are you up?" Kennedy asked, kissing her on the head._

_"Me and Giles have a thing today."_

_"A thing, huh? Sounds thrilling."_

_"Yeah, only in the boring sense."_

_Kennedy laughed and sat her bowl down on the coffee table. "Well I can't imagine much of the stuff you two do is too exciting."_

_"You're not wrong. So, what are you doing today?"_

_"Training Slayers, doing laundry, and hey probably cleaning the bathroom." Willow giggled. "What are you giggling about?""_

_"I like you bein' all domestic. It's kinda sexy."_

_"Really? Maybe I could an apron. Oh, oh. How about some rubber gloves? Then not only can I be domestic, we can also play doctor."_

_"Kinky."_

_They laughed._

__

_Willow and Kennedy were walking home, holding hands. _

_"What happened yesterday?" Willow asked. _

_"Faith and Robin had a fight." _

_"Wow. They really are a couple now."_

_"Do you remember our first fight?" _

_"Yes, I sucked the life out of you."_

_"I mostly liked the making up part. I didn't think you would ever feel me up."_

_"Hey."_

_"What? I didn't think you knew I had breasts."_

_"Oh, I knew." Kennedy looked at her shocked. "Stop looking at me like that."_

_"You knew, so why didn't you get with the groping?" _

_"I was scared. I wanted you and it scared me. Not just the sex part, but also I didn't think I was allowed to be...knowing anyone."_

_"Gotcha, but thrust me you more than made up for it."_

_"You weren't so bad your-"_

_She was cut off. A vampire growled and jumped up behind them. _

Willow woke up from her startling dream. She stayed on the couch and stared at the ceiling. She pulled Kennedy's necklace out from under her shirt. She just laid there staring at it.

Willow eventually got up from the sofa and headed for the kitchen. Her stomach was growling and she was sort of nauseous. She figured food would help.

In the freezer she found some kind of microwaveable rice bowl. She removed the covering and opened the microwave door. There in the microwave was a bowl; a bowl of Chinese food.

That was enough. Willow wasn't going to live missing another of her lovers. It was time she stepped up and went and got Kennedy. She grabbed her coat and opened the front door. Standing there in the doorway, arm up like he was going to knock.

"Oz."


	3. Aftermath Part 2

The plane ride seemed to take forever. Kennedy probably drank ten cups of coffee. The whole time she kept staring out the window, wondering what Willow was doing. She missed her so much. It didn't seem real. She couldn't believe she was going, but if Willow really didn't love her she wasn't going to stay there.

Giles has arranged for one of the Watchers he had sent there to meet her at the airport. She arrived at about 4 in the afternoon. Waiting there at the airport was a tall man with glasses. He wasn't very old and he had black hair. If Kennedy wasn't gay she might have thought he was attractive.

"Are you Kennedy?" The man asked through a British accent.

"Yeah and by the looks of you, you are the Watcher I'm looking for."

"I suppose I am. I have lined up an apartment above the library I work out of. You can stay as long as you like. I have a taxi waiting outside. Please, follow me."

"Yeah." Kennedy muttered, all emotion gone from her voice.

All she kept thinking was how all Watchers seemed to be alike. They had glasses, were British, and were extremely smart. This guy was already two out of three.

"Excuse me. I believe I have forgotten my manners. In case Rupert did not tell you who I am. My name is Cedric Page." He announced this as he got into the taxi.

"Well actually he didn't, so nice to meet you." Kennedy outstretched her hand. He took it and smiled.

"I know I will not be acting as you're official Watcher, but I believe you will find me quite useful in matters of the occult and demonology. I studied at...."

He continued on about himself, but it was all lost on Kennedy. She wasn't listening. She looked out the window. Only she wasn't looking at the scenery. She was thinking about Willow. With everything she had going on, last thing she needed was an uptight, British man talking about himself.

Kennedy didn't know how long they had been driving or how long Cedric had been talking, but the next thing she knew she was in front of a broken down library.

"This the place?" She asked as they stepped out of the taxi.

He paid the driver before he drove off and then he turned his attentions back to Kennedy.

"Yes, I know it doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside is quite spectacular. Come now." Kennedy grabbed her bags and followed.

They entered into a room with tiled floors. All of the walls were bookshelves. They were filled with all shapes and sizes of books. There was a table in the middle of the room. There was also a stairway.

"That stairway leads to my place?"

"Yes, just follow the hallway to the very end. It will be the door on the left. Do you need anything else? You must be hungry after your travels. Would you like some-"

"Actually, Mr. Page, I would just like to get to bed."

"Yes, yes, of course. If you need anything, anything at all just ask. I'm here."

"Thank you. Good night." She didn't even give him the chance to say goodnight back before she was halfway up the steps.

The hallway had several doors. The walls had extremely ugly wallpaper and the carpet was old and stained. She reached the end of the hall and the door on the left. She opened and closed the door behind her. She looked around. Every room ran into the other. There was one door and Kennedy guessed it lead to the bedroom.

She dropped her bags in front of the door and locked it. She then began to wander through her new home. She sat down on the worn sofa. It had a strange odor, it wasn't a bad smell just a different one. There was a television, but when Kennedy turned it on all she got were two channels: an adult channel and one with old black and white movies. She sighed and moved to examine the kitchen.

The kitchen floor was made up of mismatched tiles. There was a fridge and a small table and chair in the corner. She opened the tan fridge and found three empty plastic containers, a rotten apple, and an empty carton of Chinese food. The simple cardboard box sent Kennedy into tears. She remembered standing in her and Willow's kitchen fighting as she heated up some left over rice. She threw the box at the wall and wiped away her tears. Then she walked into the bedroom.

It had a bed, some ratty, pink curtains, and a dresser that had two missing knobs on the drawers. That was pretty much the full extent of the bedroom. Except for a door, that led to a tiny bathroom with nothing else in it, but the essentials.

Kennedy walked back out to the living room and grabbed some clothes. Then she walked back into the bathroom. She turned on the shower. When the water was coming out of the showerhead, Kennedy noticed it came out to the left and kind of spurted.

The entire place was a joke. Everything that was going on just made Kennedy laugh, but the laughter subsided quickly. She burst into tears. She lowered herself to her knees and continued to cry. All she wanted was for Willow to show up and tell her to come home. Maybe she would. Kennedy lost all hope of that once she remembered that Willow didn't' love her.

When she realized the bathroom was beginning to fill with steam, she disrobed and climbed in. She turned the showerhead so that the water would come straight down onto her face. Water flowed down her face, along with her tears.

About a half hour later she was clean and clothed. She walked into the kitchen again and opened the fridge, hoping there would be something there. She wasn't hungry. In fact, she was sort of numb. She cried the whole time she was in the shower and she really didn't have any strength to do anything else.

Still staring into the fridge. Kennedy experienced a wave of exhaustion. It enveloped her, nearly knocking her over. She closed the fridge door and walked into the bedroom. Her bedroom. The thought nearly sent her into tears. She didn't want a room without Willow. She didn't want anything without Willow. Why was this happening? How did this happen? Things had been so great. Somewhere deep down, she guessed, she had always known Willow's true feelings or there lack of, but it didn't make sense.

The pain began to become physical. It was too much. She crawled into her bed and rolled onto her back. She stared at the ceiling in hopes of falling asleep, but thoughts of her sudden departure and of her future held plagued Kennedy. If it were up to her, she would have been with the red-haired hacker forever, but it wasn't mutual. She couldn't bear Willow to be unhappy. She eventually stopped thinking and fell asleep.


	4. Brief Return

Willow couldn't believe it. There he stood. He had his hands in his pockets and a weird grin on his face.

"Hey," was all he said.

"Hi. Why are you here?" She was dumbstruck; she couldn't believe he was here.

"To see you. I just wanted to see how you were."

"Oh." A million things were going through Willow's brain, but nothing seemed to make it to her mouth.

"Are you going to invite me in?"

"Um... Oh! Yes, yes, come in." She moved to the side and let him through the door. As she closed the door she remembered why she was leaving to begin with. Kennedy. God, she wanted to see her. How could she now? Everything just kept getting more and more screwed up.

"This is a nice place."

"Yeah, I um...yeah."

He turned around from looking at the apartment and smiled at her. "How have you been?"

"I've been good."

"I went to Sunnydale or you know the there lack of."

"Yeah, great big, giant hole."

"I take it that was your guy's doing."

"We stopped the First, activated all the potential slayers in the world." Saying potential slayer made her think of her Slayer, Kennedy. She almost began to cry again, but Oz's voice stopped her.

"You look different." He said coming closer to her.

"I am different. A lot of things have changed since you left. A lot of things."

"Like?"

"Buffy died...again, we defeated a hell god, Xander left Anya at the alter, she became a vengeance demon again, but couldn't do that anymore. Tara was murdered. I went evil and killed the guy who did it, nearly destroyed the world, Xander stopped me. We had the big First apocalypse. I'm madly in love with one of the potential Slayers I activated and we just broke up and now you're here which is just..."

"Willow, breathe."

"Right, sorry."

"You've obviously been through quite a bit."

She nodded and sat her keys and jacket down on the table. She slumped down into the sofa. Oz sat down on the edge of the coffee table.

"Why are you here?" She said with a sigh. She didn't want to think anymore. It was all just becoming too unreal.

"I know with everything that happened, I am probably the last person you want to see right now, but I was in Tibet and I was remembering us. How we use to be before Veruca and-"

"Stop. Oz, this is all just happening entirely to fast. Yesterday my girlfriend, she left me. I am barely functioning on a human level and I just need a minute to process."

"I'm sorry."

"No. It's really good you're here. I haven't seen you in like years, but I cannot handle anything right now, especially you here wanting us. It's just-It's just too much." She began to cry. Oz came over and sat next to her. Practically cradling her.

"What happened?"

"I couldn't tell her I love her. She just sprung it on me and I got scared. Everyone I love leaves, Tara, you, now Kennedy. I just want her to come back. I want her to hold me and tell me I can do it. Tell me that she'll be there for me every step of the way."

"Can I be here?"

She looked up at him and laughed. He wiped a tear away. "Yes."

She cuddled up into him and continued to cry as he continued to comfort.

"So, Tara died and you killed the guy who did it?"

"Yeah, I flayed him alive."

"Well." He processed this.

"I guess I get the whole loss of control thing now, huh?"

"Looks like." They pulled up to the Council and Oz turned off the van.

"You sure you want to see all these crazy people again?"

"Yeah. Faith went to prison?"

Willow laughed. "Come on, Oz."

They got out of the van and walked through the front doors. Willow was in front of Oz.

"Willow, great. You're here. I sent Buffy and Faith to-" Giles stopped when he saw who Willow was with.

"Oz showed up yesterday." Willow said then added a smile.

"Okay. How have you been Oz?"

"Good."

"That's um...well that's good then."

"Giles, me and Robin finished putting the-" Xander stopped as he entered from the training room, Robin behind him.

"Xander, what the hell are you doing?" Robin asked, running into him.

"That's Oz." Xander said.

"Who's Oz?"

"I'm Oz."

"I got that. Who are you?"

"He's my um...ex-boyfriend."

"You had a boyfriend?"

"Yes, Robin, I had a boyfriend. Hey wait, Giles, where did you send Buffy and Faith?"

"Italy. They went to retrieve a Slayer the coven called about. She's supposed to be trained in martial arts."

"Oh."

"So Oz is your ex-boyfriend?"

"Again yes, Robin. Xander stop staring at him."

"I'm not."

"Why do you have an eye patch on?" Oz asked.

"Caleb gouged it out."

"Caleb?"

"The First's buttmonkey." He replied.

"But if you had a boyfriend, why did you get a Kennedy?"

"I didn't get a Kennedy. I got a Tara. Uh...Tara. Not a Tara."

"When did Faith and Buff leave?"

"This morning."

"Okay, well would you mind if I was to go away today."

"No, of course not. Xander, Robin, and I've got it."

"Uh huh. Where are Andrew and Dawn?"

"Dawn went out with friends or something and Andrew is still in the training room." Xander answered.

"We're gonna go then." She walked out.

"Bye, guys." Oz smiled at them and then followed Willow.

It had been nearly two weeks since the breakup. Willow and Oz had been spending everyday together. Oz had been staying on the couch. They had been about everything that had happened in the last few years to the both of them.

Buffy had returned from the trip and wouldn't tell Willow where Faith went. Willow was pretty sure she went to see Kennedy.

Willow missed Kennedy. She wanted to see her so bad. She knew she couldn't though. Kennedy had to come to her. She had to come back on her –

There was a knock on the door. She sighed and got up from the sofa. Oz was getting in the shower, so she had to get it.

She walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Kennedy. Willow felt her eyes widen.

"Hey, Will, I uh...needed to talk to you."

"Kennedy."

"I know everything got really screwed up and I left and it all happened so-"

"Willow, I can't find my clean shirt."

Kennedy looked past Willow and saw Oz, without his shirt. "Fast."

Oz, seeing Kennedy. "Oh, hi there."


	5. Brief Return Part 2

It had been about two weeks since her split with Willow. She couldn't believe she didn't have her in her life. She had spent some days since she had arrived in Cleveland by herself, crying, and some hanging out with Cedric.

Currently, she was walking down a street. She didn't have a clue as to where she was, but it didn't matter. She had to get out of that apartment, that constant reminder of not having Willow in her life. It seemed to her that every thought was centered around Willow. She missed her. She felt like a part of her was missing without Willow.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash from some office building. Kennedy heard a woman scream and it was as if something inside her snapped. It was like being a Slayer made her have this need to save and protect. Kennedy loved that feeling. It gave her a reason, something important to do.

She ran to the end of the street where the building was located. When she got there, she looked in the glass doors. Inside she saw two vampires. One of the vampires was feeding off a secretary and the other was going through a file cabinet.

Kennedy tried to open the door, but it was locked, so she took a brick and threw it through the window. It shattered on impact, gathering the attention of the vampires. They were looking at Kennedy, who was now going through the other door. The vampire at the file cabinet signaled for the other to attack as he continued going through the cabinets. The vampire dropped his now dead victim and jumped over the reception desks towards Kennedy.

Kennedy was ready and easily deflected his attempt to snap her neck. She retaliated with a sharp blow to the side of his head. The blow caused minimal damage and he got back up seconds later. He brought his heel to Kennedy's jaw and sent her spinning to the ground. Now on her hands and knees, Kennedy kicked out her leg and tripped the vampire, who fell flat on his back. She jumped up before the vamp could and shoved her stake through his heart, turning him to dust.

She got up from her current position and the vampire looked at her quickly before darting up a nearby hallway, papers in hand. Kennedy ran after him. He had only just turned to the second case of stairs when she reached him. He knew he had been caught, but he fought to get away.

Kennedy pulled him by his greased stained, red shirt and he flew into the wall behind them, dropping the papers as he fell. He jumped up quickly and instead of fighting back, he went after the folders and papers. Kennedy kicked him in the stomach causing him to lose his grip on the papers. Barely a second passed before Kennedy was kicking him again.

He grabbed Kennedy's foot before one of the blows landed and flipped her onto her back. She hit the cement stairs and groaned. Even with all her Slayer powers, that blow caused her to lose her breath. Also, it gave the vampire time to grab some of his papers and run back down the steps.

Kennedy lay there until some of the pain subsided. She straggled to her feet, clumsily. She was in a good amount of pain, but continued on her way. She stopped and picked up the papers the vampire he left behind before she went.

When she got home it was about midnight and she began to disrobe as someone came into the room.

"Yo, Brat."

"How the hell did you get in here?"

"British man downstairs let me in."

"Why would he do something like that?"

"I offered to sleep with him." Kennedy looked at her, skeptically. "Okay, I'm lying. I had to prove to him I was a Slayer. The guy's kinda twitchy."

"Faith, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Well, talk then." She began to walk into her bedroom. "Talk. I'm listening." She walked into the bathroom. Faith sat down on her bed and looked around her current settings.

"I think you need to come back to England."

Kennedy, through the crack in the door, "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know…to help us. Or you know your girlfriend."

"I don't want to talk about that." Kennedy came out of the bathroom and was now in her pajamas.

"Maybe you need to. Kennedy, what exactly do you have here?"

"Nothing. Is this what you came here to tell me? No, come on, Faith. What reason could possibly provoke you to show up here after all this time and tell me this?"

"She misses you."

"Right, she hasn't made contact and even when I was there she didn't-" She finally sat down beside Faith. "She never wanted me. She didn't love me."

"You don't know that."

"I do. She didn't say it. All we did was- Look it doesn't matter. I got some good going on here."

"Yeah, good. I personally enjoyed the porn channel."

"Look, I know it's not perfect. Far from it, but it's not important."

"We've talked about what you think Willow feels, but how do you feel? Do you want to go home?"

Kennedy sighed. "Yes, more than anything. I miss her."

"Well go, tell her that. Go see her. Keep this place, but go visit her. She misses you."

"Right."

"She was pretty broken last time I saw her."

"What do you mean last time you saw her?"

"Giles sent me and B to Italy to get some info on Slayer stats. Then, when I was done I came here. Me and B thought I could knock some sense into you."

"So you haven't even seen her since the morning after I left?"

"No, but she was crazy upset."

"Upset. She was-" there was a knock at the door. "Hold on."

Kennedy left Faith sitting there as she got up. She walked into the living room and opened the door. It was Cedric; he seemed panicked.

"Did you put these on my desk?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I think we have a serious problem. Is your friend still here?"

"Yeah. Faith come here."

"What's wrong with- Hey, C man. What's up?"

"A lot is up. Kennedy, where did you get these papers?"

"That office building at the end of East. A couple of vamps were feeding on a secretary. I was too late to save the women."

"The papers, Kennedy, where did you get the bleeding papers?"

"The vamp that got away had them. He grabbed the others he had, but I got these. What's the big?" He sat down on the sofa and spread the papers across the coffee table. Kennedy and Faith sat down on both sides of him.

"The big deal is, I think you may have stumbled upon a rivalry between two vampires gangs."

"Wait, there's some wicked vamp rivalry here and Giles doesn't know it. I don't buy it."

"It's not unlikely that Rupert did not. Even with that witch he works with." Kennedy lowered her head, an action that Cedric noticed. "Kennedy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Continue."

"What kind of facility did you uncover these documents?"

"Some sorta banking place. You know loans and stuff."

"Then it probably has something to do with one of the groups needing money."

"I guess that's something."

"What do you wanna do about it?" Faith asked.

"Stop it obviously," Kennedy relied.

"Yeah, I got that, Brat. How?"

"We should probably find their lair."

"We could go through the business files, see if some things don't add up or if the owner is involved."

"Good thinking, Kennedy. You can see to that."

"Tonight. I'll go tonight. I just have to change again."

"I'll go with."

"Fine." Kennedy walked into her room and closed the door. Faith looked on after her. Cedric continued to examine the papers.

Now they were walking down the same street Kennedy had taken earlier. They had been walking in silence, until Faith spoke up.

"Look, Brat. I know you think Willow was just in it for the sex, but maybe you're wrong."

"I told you I don't want to talk about that."

"Tough." She stopped and stepped in front of Kennedy blocking her way.

"Move." Kennedy spat.

"You gonna move me?"

"Faith, look. I just want to get on with my life."

"You're stupid. She was your life. Now, because of your stupid pride-"

"This has nothing to do with pride. You honestly believe that if she wanted me I would be here? I would be with her. I could have been with her forever. No one has ever- No one has ever made me feel like she does. She would touch me and the entire world would just disappear. Nothing mattered, nothing but us. It wasn't enough. Me wanting it wasn't enough. It- I wasn't enough. I know you are trying to help, but don't. I don't want it. I just want to continue on with whatever the hell I was before her. Now if you don't mind, I'm working on my second apocalypse."

She pushed Faith out of the way and walked some more. Faith stood there completely taken aback by how much feeling Kennedy had for this one person. It was astounding. She wondered if she would ever feel that intense. She shook her thoughts away and followed after Kennedy.

They were brought to a halt by a officer's hand, as they rounded the corner to the building.

"Hold on there ladies. You can't go in there. It's a crime scene."

"What happened?" Faith asked the officer.

Kennedy shot Faith a "duh" look that was lost on the officer.

"A secretary was murdered."

"Yeah…thanks officer." Kennedy pushed Faith around to the side of the building.

"Okay, what the hell was that look for?"

"Faith, the secretary was the one vamp's meal, remember?"

"Look that doesn't matter. We have to find a way into this office building of hell."

"How?"

Faith looked around and on the side of the building was a fire escape. "There." She pointed and then took off towards it.

"Faith using her brain. There really is an apocalypse coming." She muttered before following Faith.

The fire escape led directly to the roof. There was a window there and two men were inside talking. When the girls leaned against the window, they saw the one guy was actually a vampire.

"That's the vamp from earlier." She whispered to Faith. She then turned her attentions back to the conversation.

"What did you say to the police?" The vampire asked. He ran his hand through his grease-slicked hair, pulling a cigarette out from behind his ear.

"That isn't your concern, Michael. You just worry about getting the money."

"Right, the money. Sir, why do we need money?"

"For the support. Money equals power and allies. Allies equal pain for the enemy. Now stop questioning me and get me what I want. Or-," he went vamp-faced, "I will get very upset."

He walked around the desk and took his cigarette out of his mouth. He took a drag and blew the smoke in his face. "And that would be bad."

He shoved the cigarette into the other vampire eye, "Very bad."

It began to rain.

"Damn it." Faith said as she jumped down behind Kennedy from the fir escape. "Is it always wet here?"

"It's Cleveland, Faith."

"Right, so what do we do now?"

"Tell Cedric. See what he wants to do about this. The boss is obviously into something bad."

"Unless that fat ass was the boss."

"Well, that thing with the cigarette was pretty cool."

"Oh, yeah."

"So are you staying with me?"

"I guess."

"One condition. No talking about what you came for."

"Fine, but I think you're bein' stupid."

"Faith! This situation is so going to bite me in the ass."

"Come on. We can be bestest buds." She wrapped her arm around Kennedy's shoulders.

"Right." She looked at Faith's arm. "You need to remove that before I bite you." She moved her arm away. "Thank you."

"You know what you need? A night on the town. Hit some clubs. Are there any good clubs?"

"I don't know. I haven't been here very long."

"We need to find that out."

They finally arrived back at the warehouse and opened the door. Cedric was sitting at the table studying a book. He looked up from his book when they entered. They were soaking wet and didn't look very happy.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"Swell." Kennedy replied, her voice drenched in sarcasm. She took off her jacket and rung it out.

"What did you find out?"

"We discovered that the vampire is working for who we think is the head of the company. There was really no way of knowing, seeing as how we were on the roof listening. Oh and the boss is also a vamp."

"Maybe the leader of one of the gangs," Faith added.

"Yes, that is a possibility. Okay well good work girls. Why don't you get some sleep? We can dig up more tomorrow."

"Thanks, C man." Faith said, as she squeaked upstairs.

"Night, Cedric." Kennedy said and then followed Faith.

Kennedy and Faith walked down the steps.

"I said stop. I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe because you know I'm right."

"Right about what?" Cedric asked sitting down his tea.

"Right about the fact that she should go back to Willow."

"Willow?"

"Her girlfriend."

Cedric coughed and both girls looked at him.

"Faith, he didn't know I dated girls."

"Whoops, my bad."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Remember yesterday when you were talking about Giles having a witch that helps him?"

"Yes, what about her?"

Kennedy, from across the table, "She enjoyed my 'talents'."

Cedric cleared his throat. "Um…well. Okay, yes."

"Can we please stop talking about this now?"

"No, not until you go see her."

"Go see her? Where the hell did that come from?"

"If you don't believe me about her loving you, maybe the best way to know is to, I don't know…ask."

"That would be my opinion." Cedric said in a matter-a-fact voice.

"Okay, look. That's it." She stood up. "I don't wanna hear about Willow or how much she supposedly loves me. I just want to stop thinking about her. It just hurts too much. I've never felt this bad and you aren't helping."

She stood there a minute and now stopping to think, everything came back. Every single event.

"Excuse me," was all she muttered before she walked upstairs.

Faith tried to follow, but Cedric stopped her.

"No, she wants to be left alone."

"No, she wants Willow."

She paused to gather her thoughts.

"You go."

Cedric nodded and then ascended upstairs.

Upstairs, Kennedy was in the kitchen washing dishes. She heard someone come in and lean against the doorway.

"Faith, please, just don't."

"I'm not Faith."

Kennedy turned around. "Cedric."

"Hello." He sat down at the table.

"Hi." She grabbed the hand towel and then sat down too.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Cedric. I'm just a tad distracted."

"Distracted? You seem to be a little more then sad."

"Well, that too."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not really, no."

"Why?"

"It hurts."

"I'll bet. From the way Faith made it seem you loved her very much."

"I do, but she didn't' love me back. My tongue ring kept her happy, though."

His eyes widen.

"You have a tongue ring?"

"Yeah, Cedric, I have a tongue ring."

"Well," He cleared his throat, "did this girl tell you she didn't love you?"  
"No, but I knew. She just looked at me like anything she was going to say would hurt me. So, I left."

"You mean you ran away."

She got up and walked over to the fridge, "Look, I really don't want to talk about this."

"Go back to her, Kennedy. Ask her again how she feels. If she doesn't answer or says no then come back. Not until. Faith and I can handle things here."

"Why do you care about a couple of lesbians anyway?"

He cleared his throat.

"I just think you'll be better off knowing weather or not your reasons for leaving were just and… Faith will leave you alone."

"For a stuffy Brit you are quite compassionate."

"Thank you. Now then be gone with you and while your in England talk to Rupert. I'll call and tell him about the problem." He stood up. "You're a good person, Kennedy and a hell of a good fighter. You deserve to be happy."

He smiled at her and then headed for the door. Kennedy stood there and though about it. It took just second to decide. She smiled and then went into her room and starting packing.

It was early the next morning when she arrived at the airport. She took a cab to the apartment building. She paid the guy and got out. She stood there and looked up at the three story building. She noticed a van parked a couple of cars down. She had never seen it before. She shrugged it off as being someone from across the street.

She walked up the stairs and approached the door. Her door. She was unsure as to weather she should knock or not.

She knocked twice and heard footsteps. All of a sudden the excitement came. She wanted to see Willow so bad.

Willow opened the door and her eyes widen."

"Hey, Will. I uh…needed to talk to you."

"Kennedy."

"I know everything at really screwed up and I left and it all happened so-"

"Willow, I can't find my clean shirt."

Kennedy looked past Willow and saw Oz, shirtless.

"Fast."

Oz, seeing Kennedy, "Oh, hi there."

End Note: Okay, you're gonna have to wait 'til the next chapter for Kennedy's reaction. :p


	6. You Finally Get a Reaction

"Who are you?" Kennedy asked, agitation growing in her voice.

"I'm Oz. You must be Kennedy."

"Nice…abdomen," Kennedy said and then turned her attentions to Willow.

"What are you doing here?" Willow asked, reality beginning to return.

"I was kind of gonna ask you the same question."

"Oh, um…he showed up the other- Are you staying?" Her voice contained a slight hint of excitement.

"Not anymore." She turned around and walked out the door. Willow followed as Oz stood uncomfortably.

"Kennedy wait, please. This isn't what it looks like. Please, stop."

Kennedy spun around.

"What? You weren't just in there with some guy?" She turned to away, but stopped, not turning around as she spoke. "Oz, huh? As in your ex-boyfriend Oz?"

"Yeah, he came and he was sleeping on the couch. He was just-"

"Just don't. God, Willow. It's bad enough I couldn't live up to your ex-girlfriend, but your ex-boyfriend." She laughed, sadly. "I am really stupid. Why any person would listen to Faith is beyond me and I did. A tiny part of me actually believed you loved me."

"Kennedy, look at me."  
Kennedy turned around and her face was stained with tears.

"What? What do you want?"

There was no emotion in her voice and the only thing on her face was tears.

"You're crying." Willow reached out to wipe the tears away.

Kennedy flinched and pulled back. "Just stay away from me."

She cried more at what she was saying then the sudden betrayal she had witnessed. Then, she turned and walked down the stairs at the end of the hall.

Willow backed into the wall, shocked. She lowered herself to the ground and covered her face. The tears didn't come right away, not until the realization of what Kennedy said hit her.

Never see her again? How could she do that? Her breath caught in her throat. She thought, for a second, that her heart had stopped beating.

She didn't know how long she had been in the hallway crying when Oz came out into the hall, now fully clothed.

"Willow, what happened?"

"Kennedy thought that you and I were- She said she never wanted to see me again."

Oz said nothing; he just sat there and comforted her as she cried.

Kennedy made it only to the second floor, before everyone of her emotions just exploded. She stopped waking and sunk down to her knees. She was still crying, but it was magnified by her anger and jealous, jealousy for Oz because he got to have her.

She wanted to scream, but all that came out was more crying. It felt like every part of her body hurt. It wasn't just an emotional pain, but a physical one too. She wanted Willow and missed her. She just wanted to hold her and-

Now of it mattered anymore. She had proven that Willow didn't want her back, didn't love her. What was she going to do now, now that it was really true? How was she going to do it?

Then, as if she had cried all her tears away, she stopped. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve and sat there, just staring into space. Her breathing was labored and her head was throbbing. Her eyes burned and her chest pounded, but she stood up and walked out of the building.

It had been an hour and half since her encounter with Willow. She had decided to go stay at Faith's place. Faith had given her a key and Robin was in New York, so she would have the place all to herself.

It was a nice place. Kennedy had been here tons of times and always assumed that Robin was the reason for that. It had one bedroom, like Willow and her apartment had had. It had a tiny bathroom, done up in some kind of "day at the beach" wallpaper. The living room had some kind of burgundy wallpaper and the sofa was black leather. The thought of Faith and Robin screwing on it made Kennedy refrain from sitting on it. She usually sat in one of the chairs.

She had been sitting in the smaller of the two chairs since she got there. The television was tuned into some talk show. She had been in Cleveland for weeks and had grown accustomed to American channels, so it took some getting used to. She wasn't really watching what was on. She just sat there staring into space, just staring. No thoughts entered her brain. No pain, or tears, or blind rage, just nothing.

She was pretty sure she had heard the phone ring or maybe it was the door, but she didn't get up she just sat there.

Oz had taken Willow into her room and laid her down. He left her alone after that. As much as he wished he could, he knew there was nothing he could do to help. He just went out and turned on the television.

Willow could hear it through the closed door. She didn't what it was, but she could hear it. She wasn't crying anymore; she was just lying there. The room was nearly pitch-black and a little cold. She wasn't covered up and didn't feel like moving.

All she thought about was Kennedy. That was it, just Kennedy. She soon was asleep and reminiscing.

_Willow woke up kind of hazy after the previous night's love making. The sun was barely up, making it relatively dark. The window was open and she could feel the breeze outside. She loved that feeling. That comfy, barely- able- to- move feeling that came over her most mornings. _

_She rolled over expecting to see Kennedy sprawled out all over the place, but she didn't. She saw the clock on the Slayer's nightstand and it read 7:01. Willow groaned and looked around the room. _

_The curtains were rising and falling with the breeze and there were clothes all over the floor. Willow's jeans, Kennedy's Nike button-down pants, her tank-top, both of their undergarments, and Kennedy's sweatshirt. She grinned at the idea of Kennedy running around without her pajamas. _

_Willow laid there for a time and then sat up slowly. She yawned and stretched and ran her hands through her red-hair. Then, she got out of bed and put on her undergarments and Kennedy's pajamas. _

_As she walked out into the living room she smelled coffee and bacon. Then, low and behold, there sat Kennedy at the kitchen counter. _

"_Hey, babe," she greeted rather cheerfully._

"_Hi." Willow replied, confused. "Kennedy, dear, what in the world is this?"_

"_This is breakfast."_

"_Who made it?" She walked over to the stove and looked at the contents in the pans._

"_I did."_

"_But, babe, you don't cook."_

"_No, not usually. I got up this morning and I just felt like making breakfast." She stood up and took her empty plate over to the sink. "So, sit. Eat. I have to go by Faith's and get her so we can find that demon."_

_She kissed her, smiled and then grabbed her coat and left._

"_Weird." _

"_Willow!" Kennedy gasped as the orgasm left her. She collapsed onto Willow and tried to control her breathing. She inhaled sharply. _

"_That was um…nice." Willow added, breathless herself._

"_Nice. Yeah, yeah…I'd go with nice." She rolled over to try to cool down. She felt like she was on fire. _

_Willow rolled over onto her side to face Kennedy. "Are you okay?"_

"_Just a little aroused."_

"_Still?"_

"_I just. I need to um…calm-calm down." Kennedy rolled over too. "We are just a little too good at that."_

"_Agreed."_

_They finally settled down enough to let that calm feeling set in. _

_"Now I'm kind of tired."_

_"Yes, very tired." _

_Willow cuddled into Kennedy and yawned. _

_Willow began to sweat and her body began to tingle with each penetrating thrust. She started to writhe and pant. She began to pant louder until she came with one loud cry._

_"Kennedy!"_

"Kennedy!"

She sat up in a cold sweat. One of those dreams usually made her happy, very happy. Not this one. It just made her feel empty, sad, and lonely.

She lay back down and curdled into the fetal position. Then the tears came and didn't cease for the rest of the night.

She looked at the clock when she awoke. 2:47. She rubbed her head. It was still throbbing.

She groaned and started to walk to the kitchen. Before she made it there was a tap at the door. Kennedy went and opened it.

"Buffy?"

"Hey, Ken. Can we talk?"

"It's three in the morning."

"I know, but I got a call from Faith saying you finally caved. I figured I'd stop by." She walked past Kennedy into the apartment.

"Please, come in."

"Don't be a smart ass I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Maybe you should sit down."

"Goody, more fun to tonight. What is it?"

"Faith, didn't just call to tell me that you were here, but also told me about the situation in Cleveland. I think I should go and help them, so you can-"

"No."

"No?"

"No, I won't sit it out. It's my fight. Not yours. Quite frankly it's none of your business."

"I just thought you would want to be with Willow."

"Yeah, well maybe you should have looked at who she's doing. It's certainly not me. Now if you don't mind. I have an apocalypse to get back too."

She walked over to the door and opened it. Buffy looked at her.

"Willow, does love you and you're a moron for not believing it and you're an even bigger moron for letting her go."

"Gee, that made me feel better."

"I wasn't trying to soothe you. I was trying to help Willow's pain."

"Great, but I think she'd rather have Oz do it."

"You are such a spoiled-"

The phone rang making both Slayers jump. Kennedy sighed and walked over to the phone.

"Hello…yeah, Faith, hey…yeah, Buffy's here…no…okay, tell me…what do you mean? Is he okay?... yeah, okay bye." She hung up the phone.

"What did she want? Is everything alright?" Buffy asked.

"No, Cedric's dead."

End Note: I had things to seperate seperate events, but the website doesn't allow them. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. 7

"He's dead?" Buffy questioned.

"Faith said she came back from patrol and he was on the floor. She turned him over and his neck had several bite marks on it. She said he was lying in a pool of blood and-" Kennedy stopped and backed into the couch, lowering herself onto it.

"Kennedy, we should go talk to Giles."

"Yeah, we should do that."

* * *

"A rivalry? You said you saw the leader of one of the groups?" Giles asked. 

"Kind of. We saw these vamps talking about money equaling power and alliances. The guy he was talking to appeared to be a lackey of his. His name was um…Michael."

"Were there any distinct marks or-"

The door opened and Willow and Xander walked in.

"Okay, we're here to jump on the joy train."

"Not really all that joyful," Buffy replied.

Willow was behind Xander and she didn't see Kennedy right away. When she did she stopped.

"Kennedy," she whispered.

Kennedy looked up from the table they were all sitting at when she heard her name and saw Willow, standing there in her pajamas and jacket. She looked like she had been crying and when Kennedy saw that she wanted to run over to her and hold her. Instead, she simply turned her focus back to Giles.

"No. No marks or symbols that we saw. There was nothing to show that there was anything different about these vampires. They might not have been members of one of the gangs."

"So, why are we here? 'Cause I love you all but it's like 3…no make that 3:30 in the morning."

"Apparently there is some sort of rivalry going on in Cleveland. A Watcher was killed."

"That's horrible. Who's Watcher?" Willow asked.

"He was Kennedy's." Giles said.

"Well, not technically. He was more of a friend."

"I'm sorry," Xander said, "Do you know who did it?"

"No, but we have a pretty good idea. Faith's there now, probably beating the crap out of something."

"What are we going to do? I mean Cleveland's kinda, you know…on a different continent." Willow added.

"I don't know, Will, but we should do whatever soon," Buffy said.

"Why do you say that?" Giles asked.

"It's clear that these guys aren't easing up and that might be a problem. Maybe I should pay a little visit to the Hellmouth," she paused and contemplated, "the other Hellmouth."

"Why you," Kennedy asked, a tad angered.

"You're too close. Plus, you've already made trips there and back once. You shouldn't have to go again."

"It's my fight. I'm not too close and I have nothing here anyway." She looked over at Willow, who lowered her head. "I think it's a better idea if I go. It would just be easier." She looked over at Willow once more. "I better go."

She walked out the door. Willow stood there for a second before she went after her. She left and ran after her.

"Kennedy seemed awfully upset over Cedric," Giles said.

"I don't think that was over Cedric," Buffy replied.

* * *

"Kennedy, wait," Willow called after her. 

Kennedy stopped.

"You don't' have to go, especially over me." Kennedy turned around. "Please, let Buffy go. She's right you're too close."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I…I just think Buffy should go."

"Look, I just need to get away from this place. Get away from-"

"Me." Kennedy lowered her head. "You want away from me that bad?"

She didn't reply. She just turned and started to walk away.

"Okay, then you go. Leave. Run away. You do it so well."

Kennedy whipped around. "What? I ran away? You didn't' want me here! You didn't-"

"You didn't listen. I didn't say anything. That doesn't mean I don't. You just assumed I -"

"Do you? Do you love me? I'm listening now. Tell me, do you love me?"

"Yes. I love you."

She said it without hesitation, without thinking about it. The statement caught Kennedy off guard. She said it. She finally said it and all Kennedy could do was stand there. With all the emotion there was between them, neither seemed to be able to move.

Then, it happened. Kennedy miraculously found the ability to move and pulled Willow into a kiss, an extremely passionate kiss. A kiss that didn't hesitate. Neither woman refrained or held back in any way. Neither woman pulled away. They just stood there kissing one another, not acknowledging anything around them.


	8. 8

When she woke up she felt like she had been smacked in the head with something large. She looked over at the clock and it said 3:05 A.M. She felt empty and she was really cold. She got up and a wave of nausea hit her, but she stayed up anyway. It didn't want to lay there and cry anymore. She wanted food. No. She wanted water.

'Water good,' she thought as she walked out of her dark room and into the dark kitchen.

When she hit the light switch, she had to cover her already burning eyes from the light. It was so cold, but she still didn't want to lay back down. Once she had her water she headed into the living room. She had expected to see Oz, but he wasn't there. The blankets he had been using were folded up and piled on the edge of the sofa. On the coffee table lay a piece of paper. She picked it up and read it.

"Willow, I hate that I have to leave like this. I hate that you're in pain and I hate that I can't fix that pain. I honestly believe that you love that girl. That fact is apparent and undeniable. I guarantee that she will come around. Anyone who wouldn't shouldn't be with you; shouldn't be able to live. You are the most amazing person and I think Kennedy knows that. I hope you fix it. I hope you two will figure it out and most of all I hope you are happy. I'll always love you, Willow. Oz."

She sat the letter down and sat back further into the sofa. She almost started to cry again, but instead was startled by the ring of the telephone. She got up and answered it.

"Hello," she answered weakly.

* * *

Xander had picked her up a few minutes ago and they were now headed to the Watchers' Headquarters. 

"What did the page say again?"

"All Buffy said was come now. There was absolutely no hint of what the hell she would what at three in the morning."

"Oh."

They were silent the rest of the way there.

* * *

"Kennedy," she whispered as she laid eyes on the beautiful brunette that was sitting just feet away from her. Kennedy turned to Giles. 

"No. No marks or symbols that we saw. There was nothing to show that there was anything different about these vampires. They might not have been members of one of the gangs."

"So, why are we here? 'Cause I love you all but it's like 3…no make that 3:30 in the morning."

"Apparently there is some sort of rivalry going on in Cleveland. A Watcher was killed."

"That's horrible. Who's Watcher?" Willow asked.  
"He was Kennedy's." Giles said.

"Well, not technically. He was more of a friend."

"I'm sorry," Xander said, "Do you know who did it?"

"No, but we have a pretty good idea. Faith's there now, probably beating the crap out of something."

'God, she's pretty," Willow thought. 'She talks so wonderfully. I want kiss her. I wanna touch her. I want her to look at me. Why won't she look at me.'

"What are we going to do? I mean Cleveland's kinda, you know…on a different continent." Willow added.

"I don't know, Will, but we should do whatever soon," Buffy said.  
"Why do you say that?" Giles asked.

"It's clear that these guys aren't easing up and that might be a problem. Maybe I should pay a little visit to the Hellmouth," she paused and contemplated, "the other Hellmouth."

"Why you?" Willow could see Kennedy's anger growing.

"You're too close. Plus, you've already made trips there and back once. You shouldn't have to go again."

"It's my fight. I'm not too close and I have nothing here anyway." She looked over at Willow, who lowered her head. "I think it's a better idea if I go. It would just be easier." She looked over at Willow once more. "I better go."

Willow looked at the floor and made up her mind not to follow Kennedy, but her legs had other ideas. She went after her.

* * *

The kiss ended and Kennedy pulled away sharply, completely taken aback by her own actions. She had wanted to be strong, wanted to stay clear headed. She couldn't. Willow did something to her. Something powerful pulled her to Willow. Something Kennedy tried not to feel, tried to deny. Love. A deep, passionate love that she had felt the majority of the time she had known Willow. 

"Um…now I'm confused," Willow said, breathless.

"So am I. Possibly more so."

Willow tried to kiss her again, but Kennedy stepped backwards.

"What?"

"I can't do this."

"Kennedy."

"No, I can't. You can't do this. You can't just-"

"Stop. Stop trying to push me away. Just stop. Why won't you believe that I love you and I want to be with you?"

"Why? 'Cause I just spend weeks thinking you didn't love me and quite frankly I still don't think you really-"

"I do. I love you so much. I want to be with you. I want you to look at me like I'm the only person in the whole world. I want you to hold me and I want you to tell me you love me."

"I love you and I want you and I-"

Willow didn't wait for her to finish. She kissed her. She held onto her with every bit of strength she had and didn't let go even after the kiss ended. When it did she pressed her forehead to Kennedy's and lightly pecked her lips once more.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a lot of work?"

"I am a little high maintenance."

Willow laughed. "A little?"

"That may be a slight embellishment."

Willow looked at Kennedy and was really afraid of what Kennedy would say to her next question, but had to ask anyway.

"Ken?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna um…go home?"

"I would love to, but what about Oz?"

* * *

Kennedy lowered Willow to the bed and pulled the sheets over them. She wanted Willow more than she could stand. More than she ever had. 

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too."

* * *

The phone rang and Willow picked it up. 

"Hello."

"Hey, Will. Just called to tell you that me and Faith kicked some vamp gang butt. We scrunched them. There were like 20 of them. I haven't had a fight like that in a long time."

"Sounds exciting."

"Don't mock me. How's Kennedy?"

"She's good."

"Have you two left your bedroom in the last week?"

"We showered a couple of times."

"Nice. Tell her the news. We'll be back in England some time in the next couple of days."

"Okay, see you then and you two behave."

"You too."

"Bye, Buffy."

She hung up the phone and before her hand even left the receiver a pair of tanned arms snaked around her waist.

"Who was that?" Kennedy asked, as she kissed Willow's neck.

"Buffy. She called to say she and Faith killed the bad guys and they will be back in a couple of days."

"That's fantastic. Let's celebrate." She began to push Willow towards the bedroom.

"You read my mind."

* * *

End Note: This is my final chapter for this story. I know I said I would include some smuttiness, but I tried and it just didn't fit with what I wanted to do with the ending. If you want I will write the "behind the scenes" stuff and post it. Tell me what you think and thanks to you all for reading it. Hopefully, I can make you all crazy again soon. 


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